Generic impact absorbers are known from DE-OS 38 36 724, EIPPER et al., and also from DE-OS 30 42 931, URSPRUNG et al., for example. These known impact absorbers are disadvantageous because they are complicated to manufacture and are therefore relatively expensive.
Furthermore, impact absorbers consisting of pipe-shaped parts which slide into each other under deformation, with essentially circular cross-sections are known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,899,047, MAEDA, and DE-PS 28 25 460, LINDBERG, and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,198.
These known impact absorbers worked well in case of pure head-on collisions, but were not equipped to accept crosswise forces in a satisfactory manner in case of offset head-on collisions which occur far more frequently in practice.